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{{Infobox settlement
| name = Polokwane
| native_nameother_name = Pietersburg
| official_name =
| settlement_type = City
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| caption2 = City Centre
}}
| image_caption =
| image_caption = Views of Polokwane: Part of the CBD with residential areas in the back (top) and the City Centre (bottom)
| image_flag =
| image_shield = Polokwane (Pietersburg) Coat of Arms 2003-.jpg
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| pushpin_map = South Africa Limpopo#South Africa
| coordinates = {{coord|23|54|00|S|29|27|00|E|region:ZA_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = [[Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{flag|South Africa}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Province]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Limpopo]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of South Africa|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Capricorn District Municipality|Capricorn]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[Municipalities of South Africa|Municipality]]
| subdivision_name3 = [[Polokwane Local Municipality|Polokwane]]
| subdivision_type4 = Main Place
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| demographics_type1 = Racial makeup (2011)
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" />
| demographics1_title1 = [[Bantu peoples of South Africa|Black African]]
| demographics1_info1 = 74.4%
| demographics1_title2 = [[Coloureds|Coloured]]
| demographics1_info2 = 3.7%
| demographics1_title3 = [[Indian South African|Indian]]/[[Asian South African|Asian]]
| demographics1_info3 = 3.1%
| demographics1_title4 = [[White South African|White]]
| demographics1_info4 = 18.2%
| demographics1_title5 = Other
| demographics1_info5 = 0.5%
| demographics_type2 = [[First language|First languages]] (2011)
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" />
| demographics2_title1 = [[Sepedi language|Sepedi]]
| demographics2_info1 = 45.9%
| demographics2_title2 = [[Afrikaans]]
| demographics2_info2 = 19.8%
| demographics2_title3 = [[South African English|English]]
| demographics2_info3 = 10.3%
| demographics2_title4 = [[Venda language|Venda]]
| demographics2_info4 = 6.7%
| demographics2_title5 = Other
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| timezone1 = [[South African Standard Time|SAST]]
| utc_offset1 = +2
| postal_code_type = [[List of postal codes in South Africa|Postal code]] (street)
| postal_code = 0699
| postal2_code_type = [[Post-office box|PO box]]
| postal2_code = 0700
| area_code_type = [[Telephone numbers in South Africa|Area code]]
| area_code = 015
| website = {{URL|https://www.polokwane.gov.za}}
| leader_party = [[ANC]]
| governing_body = [[Polokwane Municipality]]
| blank_name_sec2 = Bird
| blank_info_sec2 = [[Northern royal albatross]]
| blank1_name_sec2 = Flower
| blank1_info_sec2 = [[Blue squill]]
| image_map = Polokwane (Pietersburg) map.svg
| image_seal = City of Polokwane logo.png
}}
 
'''Polokwane''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ˌ|p|ɒ|l|ə|ˈ|k|w|ɑː|n|ɪi}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/polokwane?showCookiePolicy=true|title=Polokwane|access-date=24 September 2014|publisher=Collins Dictionary|date=n.d.}}</ref> meaning "Sanctuary" in [[Northern Sotho]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Polokwane|title=Polokwane {{!}} South Africa|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2018-06-16}}</ref><ref name=homepage>[http://www.polokwane.org.za/ Polokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Province.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204035540/http://www.polokwane.org.za/ |date=2010-02-04 }} City of Polokwane official website. Retrieved on October 15, 2009.</ref><ref name="name trans">{{cite web|url=http://www.polokwane.org.za/index.php?view_page+493|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121225093156/http://www.polokwane.org.za/index.php?view_page+493|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-12-25|title=Our history|publisher=[[Polokwane Local Municipality]]|access-date=2009-09-19}}</ref>), formerly and also known as '''Pietersburg''', is the capital city of the [[Limpopo Province]] in [[South Africa]]. It is the country's largest urban centre north of [[Gauteng]]. It was one of the nine host cities of the [[2010 FIFA World Cup]].
 
==History==
 
=== Early history ===
[[File:Battles of the nineteenth century (1901) (14595756098).jpg|left|thumb|338x338px401x401px|The Boer War (1901)]]
In the 1840s, [[Voortrekker]]s under the leadership of [[Andries Potgieter|Andries Hendrik Potgieter]] established [[Schoemansdal, Limpopo|Zoutpansbergdorp]], a town {{convert|100|km|abbr=on}} to the north. This settlement had to be abandoned because of clashes with the local tribes (Lebelo, Langa & Ledwaba clans), they founded a new town in 1886 and named it "Pietersburg" in honour of Voortrekker leader [[Petrus Jacobus Joubert]]. A small number of Indian/Asian and coloured people settled into the region before the end of the 19th century. It was the capital of the [[Transvaal (province)|Transvaal]] and the [[Orange Free State (province)|Orange Free State]] for a short time in 1900 at the time of the [[Second Boer War]] from 1899 to 1902.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Polokwane {{!}} City, Limpopo, Safari {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Polokwane |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=www.britannica.com }}</ref> The [[British Empire|British]] occupied Pietersburg in 1901 and built a [[British concentration camps|concentration camp]] to [[incarcerate]] almost 4,000 [[Boer]] women and children.
[[File:Pietersburg Camp, c.1901. (22473806473).jpg|none|thumb|Pietersburg Camp (1901)]]
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=== Since 1994 ===
The [[town]] officially became a [[city]] on 23 April 1992 and on 27 April 1994, it became the capital of the newly formed Northern Transvaal province (Later changed to "Northern province" and thereafter Limpopo) following the [[1994 South African general election|1994 South African general elections]]. On 25 February 2005, [[List of renamed places in South Africa|the government declared the official name of the city as Polokwane]], a name that was generally in use by the speakers of [[Northern Sotho language|Northern Sotho (Sepedi)]]. The city was host to the [[52nd National Conference of the African National Congress|52nd national conference of the African National Congress]], held in December 2007 at the [[University of Limpopo]] and saw [[Jacob Zuma]] voted as President of the [[African National Congress|ANC]], beating the former president [[Thabo Mbeki]].<ref>{{cite news |date=19 December 2007 |url=http://www.economist.com/node/10328276 |title=South Africa: Zuma comes out on top |newspaper=The Economist}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/52nd-anc-national-conference-polokwane-2007|title=The 52nd ANC National Conference - Polokwane 2007 {{!}} South African History Online|website=www.sahistory.org.za|access-date=2019-11-18}}</ref>

Today the city of Polokwane has seen respectable development in terms of its infrastructure and services as provides a wide variety of shopping venues and malls, restaurants, entertainment venues, religious venues, civic halls, as well as modern housing developments and office buidlingsbuildings.
 
== Political Governance ==
The city of [[Polokwane and theLocal Municipality|Polokwane Municipality]] is run by the African National Congress (ANC) with a 60% majority obtained in the latest 2021 Municipal Elections. In a by-election held on 24 April 2024, Ward 10 was won by ANC councillor candidate [https://mankwengnews.co.za/mankweng/anc-defeats-eff-in-ward-10-polokwane/ Willie Madikoto] after the arrest and resignation of the previous [[Economic Freedom Fighters|Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)]] councillor Jacob Seshokadue due to alleged theft of firearms.
 
== Ailing Infrastructure and Poor Service Delivery ==
Despite the number developments the city has seen, it has been plagued with persistent issues of poor service delivery, which has led to crucial infrastructure such as electricity, water, and sewage systems to continuously be sought after in the various communities that are constantly effected by their unavailability. Public infrastructure such as traffic and street lights, roads, and sidewalks are also amongst the many problems the city's municipality faces.
<div style="display:flex; flex-direction:row;">
[[File:Ailing public infrastructure Polokwane (Pietersburg) Limpopo South Africa.jpg|thumb|419x419px|Damaged storm water drain in the Suburb of Nirvana]]
[[File:Ailing public infrastructure and service delivery (Pietersburg) Limpopo South Africa.jpg|thumb|359x359px|Sights such as these are common to see in almost every part of the city]]
</div>
 
==Demographics==
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The city features a [[semiarid climate]] under the [[Köppen climate classification]]. Despite its position on the [[Tropic of Capricorn]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=2746|work=The African Executive|title=Profiles: History of Polokwane|date=12–19 December 2007|access-date=10 February 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707101033/http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=2746|archive-date=7 July 2011}}</ref> the climate is tempered by its position on a plateau 1230&nbsp;m above sea level.<ref name=whygo>{{cite web|url=http://www.southafricalogue.com/polokwane|title=Polokwane|author=Peter Baxter|work=WhyGo: South Africa|access-date=10 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412092705/http://www.southafricalogue.com/polokwane|archive-date=2010-04-12|url-status=dead}}</ref> Average temperatures reach around {{convert|21|-|22|C|F}} in January and fall to {{convert|11|C|F}} in July.<ref name=whygo/> As with much of inland South Africa, Polokwane has experienced notably warmer seasons over the last decade than its long-term average.<ref>Average monthly and annual temperatures, Polokwane/Pietersburg 1932{{spaced ndash}}2007, GISS</ref>
The city has a dry climate with a summer rainy season and a pronounced dry spell during winter. Average annual rainfall is {{convert|495|mm|in|abbr=on}}, with December or (less often) January the wettest month and July the driest.<ref>GHCN monthly rainfall Pietersburg, NGDC, 1932-1992</ref>
[[File:Plkjacaranda.jpg|thumb|[[Jacaranda]] trees line many streets in the city, blooming purple blossoms in October every year.|left|289x289px]]{{climateWeather chartbox
|Polokwane
|17 |28 |82
|17 |28 |60
|15 |27 |52
|12 |24 |33
|8 |22 |11
|5 |20 |5
|4 |20 |3
|7 |22 |6
|10 |25 |17
|13 |26 |43
|15 |27 |85
|16 |27 |81
|float = right
|clear = right
|source = SAWS<ref name="saws-climstats">{{cite web
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120304032504/http://old.weathersa.co.za/Climat/Climstats/PolokwaneStats.jsp
|archive-date = March 4, 2012
|url = http://old.weathersa.co.za/Climat/Climstats/PolokwaneStats.jsp |title = Climate data for Polokwane |access-date = 7 March 2010 |publisher = South African Weather Service}}</ref>
}}
{{Weather box
| width = auto
| location = Polokwane (1991−2020, extremes 1953–present)
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===Air===
The city is served by two airports. A public airport, the [[Polokwane International Airport]], {{airport codes|PTG|FAPP}}<ref>{{cite web |title=FAPP - Polokwane Intl, ZA - Airport - Great Circle Mapper |url=http://www.gcmap.com/airport/FAPP |access-date=10 February 2010}}</ref> which is to the north of the city, while the smaller Pietersburg Civil Aerodrome {{airport codes||FAPI}} is at the south-east of the city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pietersburg Civil airport, Limpopo, South Africa |url=http://za.geoview.info/pietersburg_civil,6301543 |access-date=2018-06-16 |website=za.geoview.info }}</ref>
<div style="display:flex">
[[File:Africa raid 1935 Pietersburg.jpg|thumb|360x360px|YR-ACK at the Polokwane (Pietersburg) airport (1935)]]
<div style="flex:1; padding:5px;">
[[File:Sabres on flightline, AFB Pietersburg.jpg|none|thumb|310x310px|Squadron Sabre 352-Bs at the Pietersburg AFB]]
[[File:Africa raid 1935 Pietersburg.jpg|thumb|center|360x360px|YR-ACK at the Polokwane (Pietersburg) airport (1935)]]
</div>
<div style="flex:1; padding:5px;">
[[File:Sabres on flightline, AFB Pietersburg.jpg|thumb|center|320x320px|Squadron Sabre 352-Bs at the Pietersburg AFB]]
</div>
</div>
 
 
===Railways ===
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==Society and culture==
===Media===
[[File:Energy FM SA.jpg|thumb|Energy FM office in the city|250x250px]]
The [[South African Broadcasting Corporation|South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC)]] has a branch in the city.<ref>[http://www.sabc.co.za/portal/site/sabc/menuitem.6001ff5f1e8babc38b62eb68a24daeb9/ Sabc Corporate] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918212648/http://www.sabc.co.za/portal/site/sabc/menuitem.6001ff5f1e8babc38b62eb68a24daeb9 |date=2009-09-18 }}</ref> The city also hosts a branch of the country's largest independent radio station, [[Jacaranda FM|Jacaranda RM/FM]], which is broadcast from either [[Pretoria]], [[Nelspruit]] or Polokwane itself.<ref>[http://www.jacarandarmfm.com/ Jacaranda 94.2FM] {{webarchive|url=http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20120330122703/http%3A//www.jacarandarmfm.com/ |date=2012-03-30 }}</ref>
 
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===Cricket===
The Polokwane Cricket Club is one of the oldest in the country and was established in 1902.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.observer.co.za/stories/century-old-cricket-club-make-way-2010-f |title=Century old Cricket Club to make way for 2010 Fan Park &#124; Polokwane Observer |access-date=2010-12-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111225154138/http://www.observer.co.za/stories/century-old-cricket-club-make-way-2010-f |archive-date=2011-12-25 }}</ref> The first-class [[Limpopo (cricket team)|Limpopo cricket team]] are based in Polokwane at the Polokwane Cricket Club Ground.<ref>{{cite web |title=Limpopo Impala Cricket |url=http://www.limpopoimpalacricket.co.za/ |website=Limpopo Impala Cricket |access-date=21 November 2022}}</ref>
 
The city's suburb of Nirvana also holds an annual cricket competition called the "Nirvana Premier Leauge" in which teams from all around the city and the province take part in.
 
===Netball===
The [[Limpopo Baobabs]] represents the city as well as the province of [[Limpopo]] in the [[NetballTelkom League (South Africa)|Netball League]]. [[South Africa]]n goal shooter [[Lenize Potgieter]] was also born in Polokwane.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}
 
===Rugby===
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=== Stadiums ===
[[File:Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa (8714600990).jpg|thumb|The outside of the Peter Mokaba Stadium]]
* [[Peter Mokaba Stadium]], constructed for the [[2010 FIFA World Cup]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/destination/stadiums/stadium=5007758/index.html |publisher=FIFA |title=Peter Mokaba Stadium: the stadiums for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528122008/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/destination/stadiums/stadium%3D5007758/index.html |archive-date=2010-05-28 }}</ref>
* [[Pietersburg Stadium]]
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An extensive art collection is preserved in the city's art gallery, open to the public. The city has more public sculptures per capita in its parks than elsewhere in South Africa. It was also the first city to unveil a bust of the ex-president [[Nelson Mandela]] in its City Square (Civic Gardens), and it was authorised by Nelson Mandela personally.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.polokwane247.com/about-polokwane/ |title=Polokwane (Pietersburg) the capital of Limpopo |access-date=2017-12-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122130018/http://www.polokwane247.com/about-polokwane/ |archive-date=2018-01-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 
The city is considered the premier hunting destination in South Africa.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://blog.sa-venues.com/visitorials/love-polokwane-2013/|title=I Heart Polokwane Because - South Africa Travel News|date=2013-07-30|work=South Africa Travel|access-date=2018-06-16}}</ref><div style="display:flex">
<div style="flex:1; padding:5px;">
[[File:Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa (8713345999).jpg|thumb|405x405pxcenter|355x355px|The city has a rich African culture integrated into it]]
</div>
[[File:Plkwarmemorial.jpg|thumb|War memorial outside the Polokwane Art Gallery consisting of hundreds of guns melted after the Anglo-Boer war|none|340x340px]]
<div style="flex:1; padding:5px;">
[[File:Plkwarmemorial.jpg|thumb|center|340x340px|War memorial outside the Polokwane Art Gallery consisting of hundreds of guns melted after the Anglo-Boer war]]
</div>
</div>
 
==Commerce==
The city hosts several major industries such as [[Coca-Cola]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cocacola.co.za/bottling_profile_coca_cola_fortune.aspx|title=Home|access-date=2018-06-16}}</ref> Freshmark (a division of Shoprite Checkers), and [[South African Breweries]].<ref>[http://www.sablimited.co.za/sablimited/view/sablimited/en/page400 SAB Limited - Sites and locations] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115090248/http://www.sablimited.co.za/sablimited/view/sablimited/en/page400 |date=2010-01-15 }}</ref> As the capital of the Limpopo province, the city also has a large commercial area with the four largest banks in the country all having at least three branches in the city.
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==Education==
 
=== Primary and Secondary education ===
The city has quite a number of Primary and Secondary schools, ranging from humble public schools to Upper-class private schools.
 
==== Some primary schools include ====
 
* Noordskool Primary school
* Elica Primary School
* Laerskool Polokwane
* Nirvana Primary School
* Northern Academy Primary School
 
==== Some secondary schools include ====
 
* Hoerskool Pietersburg
* Taxila Secondary School
* Curo Heuwelkruin High School
* Capricorn High School
* Northern Academy Secondary School
* Westernburg Secondary School
* Northern Muslim School
 
===Tertiary education===
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== Shopping malls and venues ==
[[File:Savannah Mall, Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa (10185861304).jpg|thumb|The insideInside of the Mall of the North]]
 
=== Malls ===
* [[Mall of the North]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mallofthenorth.co.za/|title=Mall of the North {{!}} Welcome to great shopping|website=www.mallofthenorth.co.za|access-date=2018-06-16}}</ref>
* Savannah Mall<ref>{{Cite web |title=Savannah Mall - where shoppers feel at home and return {{!}} Savannah Mall |url=https://www.savannahmall.co.za/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=www.savannahmall.co.za}}</ref>
 
=== Shopping venues and centres ===
* Cycad Centre<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morrison |first=Craig |title=Cycad Centre |url=https://moolmangroup.co.za/portfolio/cycad-centre/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=Moolman Group |language=en-ZA}}</ref>
* The Greenery<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morrison |first=Craig |title=The Greenery |url=https://moolmangroup.co.za/portfolio/the-greenery/ |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=Moolman Group |language=en-ZA}}</ref>
 
== Sister cities and suburbs ==
===Sister cities===
Polokwane is a [[twin towns and sister cities|sister city]] with:
 
* {{flagicon|Italy}} [[Reggio Emilia]], [[Italy]]
* {{flagicon|Zimbabwe}} [[Bulawayo]], [[Zimbabwe]]
 
===Sub-areas===
* [[Polokwane Ext 44]]
* [[Westenburg]]
* [[Bendor Park|Bendor]]
* [[Flora Park]]
* [[Annadale, South Africa|Annadale]]
 
==Notable people==
* [[Mvzzle]], DJ and record producer known for producing "[[Umlilo]]" by [[DJ Zinhle]]
* [[Lyndon Ferns]], Olympic gold-medalist and former world record swimmer
* [[Sylvia Glasser]], choreographer
* [[Tlou Segolela]], professional football player
* [[Retief Goosen]], professional golfer who was in the top ten in the Official World Golf Ranking for over 250 weeks between 2001 and 2007
* [[Lucas Malan]], Afrikaans academic and poet
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* [[Victor Matfield]], former South African national rugby team captain
* [[Peter Mokaba]], controversial anti-apartheid activist
* [[Mvzzle]], DJ and record producer known for producing "[[Umlilo]]" by [[DJ Zinhle]]
* [[Gift Ngoepe]], professional baseball player
* [[Tlou Segolela]], professional football player
* [[Caster Semenya]], middle-distance runner and world champion
* [[John Smit]], former South African national rugby team captain
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==Coats of arms==
[[File:Pietersburg (Polokwane) Coat of Arms 1931 to 1967.jpg|thumb|The Coat of Arms of Pietersburg from 1931 to 1967]]
 
===Municipal (1)===
By 1931, the Pietersburg municipal council had assumed a pseudo-heraldic "coat of arms". The shield depicted a crossed pick and shovel, two crossed wheatsheaves, and the date 1904 surrounded by a rib and bearing the motto ''{{lang|la|[[Labor omnia vincit]]''}}. The crest was an ostrich.<ref name=cig>The arms were depicted on a [http://www.ngw.nl/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Category:UTC_South_African_town_arms cigarette card] issued in 1931.</ref>
 
[[File:Pietersburg (Polokwane) Coat of Arms 1931 to 1967.jpg|thumb|The Coat of Arms of Pietersburg from 1931 to 1967]]
 
=== Municipal (2) ===
[[File:SADF era Pietersburg Commando emblem.jpg|thumb|The Coat of Arms of Pietersburg from 1967 to 2003]]
A proper coat of arms was designed in the 1960s. It was registered with the Transvaal Provincial Administration in August 1967<ref name=og>Transvaal ''Official Gazette'' 3288 (30 August 1967).</ref> and at the [[Bureau of Heraldry]] in September 1969.<ref name=boh>http://www.national.archsrch.gov.za{{dead link|date=July 2017}}</ref>
 
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The crest was a golden eagle, and the motto, once again, was ''Labor omnia vincit''.
[[File:SADF era Pietersburg Commando emblem.jpg|thumb|The Coat of Arms of Pietersburg from 1967 to 2003]]
 
[[File:Polokwane (Pietersburg) Coat of Arms 2003-.jpg|thumb|The Coat of Arms of Polokwane from 2003-]]
 
===Municipal (3)===
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Above the shield is a brown rustic crown. The motto is ''Unity - Equity - Progress - Prosperity''.
[[File:Polokwane (Pietersburg) Coat of Arms 2003-.jpg|thumb|The Coat of Arms of Polokwane from 2003-]]
 
 
 
==References==
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polokwane"